Animal Crackers
by BlackShield
Summary: She frowned at the elephant, like scrunching her eyes up would help her see the answer. Or like it would help her see what Brittany saw. The second thought made Brittany's heart do something weird.


Stand-alone scene, set sometime in middle school in the canon universe. Unrelated to Britt tVS series. Standard disclaimers.

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><p>Brittany considered the cracker pinched between her thumb and forefinger. When she looked at the face, it looked like a boy elephant, but its posture was a bit feminine, and either way she didn't like to make assumptions. "Santana?" she asked, closing one eye and squinting at the cracker. She gained no insight.<p>

"What?" Santana ripped the corner off her sandwich and tucked it into her mouth without enthusiasm. She'd started packing her own lunches so Dave Karofsky would stop asking what _arroz con habichuelas_ meant and why her mom wouldn't pack her a normal meal.

Brittany leaned over, tilting the elephant to face Santana. "Do you think it's a boy or a girl?" she whispered, so it wouldn't overhear her.

Santana turned and looked at her—then looked again, dark eyes flicking over Brittany's face. Brittany waited. Santana eyed the cracker suspiciously. "Why does it matter?" She sounded like she was afraid to know the answer.

"It doesn't," Brittany shrugged, tilting the cracker under the fluorescent light, "I just don't wanna offend anybody."

Santana took a bite of her sandwich. Brittany could see she was doing it to hide her smile. "Britt, it's a cracker," she said harshly. Brittany could hear the amusement underneath. "It's not gonna get offended."

"San." Brittany pouted a little.

Santana sighed. _Sorry_, her sigh said. She frowned at the elephant, like scrunching her eyes up would help her see the answer. Or like it would help her see what Brittany saw. The second thought made Brittany's heart do something weird, like maybe that Swedish Fall move they'd learned at cheerleading a few weeks ago.

"I guess it looks like a boy to me." Santana looked at Brittany for confirmation. She'd already gotten invested in the answer, despite herself. It made Brittany smile. She nodded and popped the cracker into her mouth without further preamble.

Santana stared at her. "That's it?"

Brittany gulped it down, digging her fingers back into the box. "Well, yeah," she said. She stared at her newest acquisition—an antelope, or maybe it was a giraffe?—and glanced at Santana. "What else is there?"

That look again: Santana searching her face like she was looking for a handle, so she could swing open the door and finally figure out what was inside Brittany that made her—something. But there was a softness to it that Brittany liked, like part of Santana hoped she would never find that handle or those answers. Like she could look at Brittany's face forever.

"I dunno," Santana admitted. Brittany redirected her attention back at the girantelope in her hand. "I guess I thought you'd wanna name him or something."

"I could've named him without knowing he's a him, silly," Brittany answered with a smile, the words humming against her lips. "It doesn't matter if he's a boy or a girl. I just thought he'd want me to know."

Santana considered this over another bite of sandwich. Brittany tried to measure the proportion of neck to body on the girantelope, but it was difficult to reach any kind of conclusion. Animal cracker anatomy was a little heavier on theory than execution.

"But it does matter," Santana said finally. "Doesn't it?" Her voice came out hesitant, the way it always did when she wasn't sure she was understanding Brittany correctly. The way she tried so hard tucked Brittany's insides into one of those flips again. "I mean," Santana pushed on, "doesn't he wanna have a name and, like, a job and a wife and stuff?"

Brittany tucked her chin and looked at Santana skeptically. "San," she scolded, "elephants don't have jobs." She turned back to the box and put the girantelope back inside, fingers searching for a cracker with a little less pressure. "And who says he can't have those things if he's a she?"

When Santana was quiet for a few minutes, Brittany looked up from the dolphin in her hand to search Santana's face. She looked a little upset and a little lost in space. Brittany nudged her elbow against Santana's arm. "Space Cadet San," she whispered. "Are you lost in orbit?"

Santana's eyes snapped to her. She broke into the embarrassed, almost shy smile she only let Brittany see. "Sorry," she said. "Just thinking."

Brittany held Santana's gaze, searching her eyes for clues. She held the dolphin up and ordered, as seriously as she could, "Open up."

Santana looked flabbergasted and glanced around the lunchroom. When she opened her lips to speak—to say no, almost certainly—Brittany pushed the cracker into Santana's mouth with a grin. "Hey!" Santana sputtered, bringing her hand up to cover her shock and her smile.

Brittany beamed proudly. "You're welcome," she said pointedly. She dug back into the box and found her last mystery. "Now help me figure out if this is a giraffe or not."


End file.
